


I Can Show You The World

by ElizabethOlsenIsMySpiritAnimal



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Ahsoka Tano-centric, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anakin Skywalker Doesn't Turn to the Dark Side, Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, BAMF Ahsoka Tano, Canon Divergence - Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Darth Maul Redemption, Darth Maul-centric, Episode: s7e10 The Phantom Apprentice, F/M, Force Visions, Minor Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Movie: Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) Spoilers, The Dark Side of the Force, The Light Side of the Force
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:15:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23831455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElizabethOlsenIsMySpiritAnimal/pseuds/ElizabethOlsenIsMySpiritAnimal
Summary: Maul chooses his words a little more carefully, and Ahsoka Tano takes his hand.
Relationships: Darth Maul & Ahsoka Tano, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 86
Kudos: 426





	I Can Show You The World

**Author's Note:**

> SIEGE OF MANDALORE, BABY!

//

“What do you want with Anakin Skywalker?”

As the world - quite literally - fell apart around him, Maul, formerly Darth, ex-apprentice to Darth Sidious, took a moment to reflect upon everything that had led him to this point, this showdown with the former apprentice of Sidious’ soon to be enforcer. Golden eyes appraised the situation, made their assessment, and-

“He is the key to everything.”

-he uttered his words as if they were a kingly proclamation. Before him, Ahsoka Tano tilted her head in contemplation. “To bring balance to the Force?” Maul made to answer, to finish the answer he was giving, when something, _somewhere,_ told him to be just a _little_ more tactful with what he was about to say. To say what was on his mind would lead to something terrible, something he’d been working to avoid, or at the very least, mitigate, and so, he took a breath, and answered.

“Yes, yes, he is.” Maul said, plainly.

For a moment, Ahsoka didn’t move. She didn’t do much of anything for a good, long minute, which passed by like an eternity. And then, her hands moved away from her lightsabers, and she took a step forward, then another, and another. Slowly, a hand reached out, and she grasped his outstretched one with a soft, yet firm, grip.

“What do we need to do?”

//

Far below, a battle was raging.

On one side, the 332nd Company of the Grand Army of the Republic, aided by the Nite Owls, blazed away at the oncoming Mandalorian Supercommandos, who, for all their losses and the amount of firepower being thrown their way, still kept coming. Barrage after barrage, missile after missile, both sides tore each other to shreds all across the city of Sundari.

It mattered little.

“My ship is not far.” Said Maul, as he and Ahsoka traversed the rafters high above the city. “It is a simple matter of getting to it and escaping the planet without being detected. From there, we shall journey to Coruscant, and if we are lucky, we shall stop Sidious in his tracks.”

“And if we’re not?” Ahsoka asked. 

“Then depending upon whether his plans have proceeded far enough, either we will survive and find a way to thrive in the chaos to come, or we shall die side by side at his hand.” Maul answered, as a missile flew past and exploded somewhere distant. “We must hurry, every second we waste plays right into Sidious’ hands.”

Nodding absentmindedly, Ahsoka looked down at the chaos below. Somewhere far down, Rex was no doubt in the middle of things, as was Bo-Katan. She imagined they were wondering where she was, if she was fighting Maul at this very moment, their blades clashing, red on blue and back again. She sighed, and kept walking, until the telltale sound of a ship made itself known in the chaos, soaring out of the smoke to hover just above the duo and their precarious position, far above the city. “And here we are…” Maul said, sweeping grandly as a boarding ramp lowered.

“...ladies first.”

//

When they were safely away in hyperspace, Ahsoka decided it was time to learn more.

“What do you know of Sidious?” She asked, watching the blue fabric of the subspace dimension their ship was currently ensconced in pass by. Maul turned about in his chair, fingers clacking together, one two three, repeat.

“He was my master.” Said the Zabrak. “When I was a young boy, my mother gave me to him so that I might be trained in the ways of the Sith.” He looked away, his expression distant. “For years, I studied under his tutelage, carrying out whatever demands he made of me, and in return, he taught me in the ways of the Dark Side.” He looked back up at her. “We traveled to ancient Sith temples, ones the Jedi do not know of, he allowed me access to the Sith Archives, he instructed me in the usage of a lightsaber, and promised me that one day, I would rise to my rightful place as a Sith Lord…”

“...and then he replaced me.”

“Replaced you?” Ahsoka asked, and Maul nodded.

“Thirteen years ago, I slew Qui-Gon, Kenobi’s master, in battle. Kenobi bested me soon thereafter, and in the years I spent going mad, eking out a miserable life as a scavenger fused to a machine, Sidious replaced me with Dooku. It is his way, you see, when he sees a better candidate for his right hand, he replaces his current one. And now...” He trailed off, and Ahsoka leaned forward. 

“Now?” She asked.

“...he believes he has found his next apprentice. His _final_ apprentice.” Maul said, and Ahsoka’s lips turned into a slight frown at the words. For a moment, she said nothing, and then a most horrific realization burned itself into her thoughts.

“Anakin.” She gasped.

“Yes, Anakin Skywalker…” Maul murmured, seemingly oblivious to her horror. “...the moment he became aware of his existence, he became fixated with him. All these years, he has watched Skywalker, and now that he has been separated from those who have kept him grounded, he will strike, and then Anakin Skywalker will be no more.”

“Anakin would never turn.” Ahsoka said, standing up, offense flaring in her eyes. “I know him, he wouldn’t!”

“Oh, but if only that were true.” Maul responded, looking up at her with something akin to pity. “Were the Chosen One Kenobi, or perhaps even yourself, I would not be worried, but Skywalker...Skywalker is a supernova, one Sidious intends on harnessing.”

“Are you going to kill him?” Ahsoka demanded, her voice low and dangerous. Maul shook his head.

“That was my initial plan, and the reason I orchestrated the battle currently raging on Mandalore, but now...I see that is the wrong way to approach the puzzle that is Sidious. To stop him...the Chosen One must fulfill his purpose.”

“Balance.” Ahsoka murmured.

“Yes, balance.” Maul said, making a fist for emphasis. “Only he can destroy the Sith forever, you, nor I, nor Kenobi or Master Yoda can accomplish this, only him.”

“So we make sure he can destroy Sidious?” Ahsoka posed, and Maul nodded.

“I will not lie to you, Lady Tano.” He said. “It is unlikely either of us will survive, but if this...this suicide mission can stop what Sidious has in motion, then I am content.” He turned away, back to look at the screen that displayed how close they were to Coruscant-

“Why?”

-and then he turned back. “Why help the Jedi find Sidious?” Ahsoka asked, her hands on her hips. “What have you to gain from this? Taking his position as Master?” Maul shook his head.

“All I want, Lady Tano, is revenge.” He said. “Revenge for his abandonment of me, revenge for what he did to me, and most importantly, revenge for Savage, my brother.” He waved a hand. “I do not care about the struggle between the light and the dark, nor do I care about ascending to the mantle of Sith Lord as I once did in my youth. All I want is to see Sidious _die.”_

“Then tell me his name.” Ahsoka said. Maul looked at her, and nodded.

“Darth Sidious, the man behind all of this suffering…is Sheev Palpatine.”

//

“No, no, that can’t be true!”

“I could tell you that it is, but then you would deny it, and I would reassure you of it’s veracity, and we would go on forever in that little dance.” Said Maul, extending his hand towards her. “Come, let me show you what I mean.” He stood up, and walked closer to Ahsoka, who shrank back, as if _he_ was Sidious. Slowly, with a trembling grip, she reached out, and took Maul’s hand-

_Kill him. Kill him now._

-and she saw _everything._ She saw Anakin, standing before a defeated and kneeling Dooku, lightsabers held before him. Before her, Palpatine watched with a sickly glee as Anakin beheaded the Count, something dark and angry in his eyes as he brought the blades down.

_Did you ever hear the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?_

Anakin, desperate and troubled, listened to Palpatine as he spun a tale of someone - the master of my master, Maul helpfully murmured within her mind - who had the power to cheat death itself. Before her, her master drank in the words like a poisoned chalice, uncaring of what it would do to him.

_Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth...Vader._

She saw Anakin, kneeling before Palpatine, of whom was now scarred, visage marred with ugly wounds. She saw him say something, the words unknown, but the desperate look on his face told it all. He didn’t want this, but he saw no other choice. Anakin Skywalker died on that floor, and Darth Vader arose in his place.

_Execute Order 66._

She saw Jedi, all around the galaxy, perish at the hands of their own troops, who moved like marionettes, puppets on strings, as they turned upon their friends. Before her, Obi-Wan Kenobi fell from a sheer cliff as Cody and his men fired upon him, Ki-Adi Mundi collapsed in a hail of blaster fire, courtesy of Bacara, Aayla Secura was gunned down from behind, her friend and lover being the first to pull the trigger, Plo Koon vanished as his ship was consumed by flames and cannon fire-

_...reorganized into the First Galactic Empire!_

-and Palpatine, triumphant, as the Jedi fell and the Sith rose, the Republic, consumed by the Empire that would arise. The Sith Master raised his hands in a twisted sort of triumph, a wicked smile across his face as he ensured the fall of the Jedi, of everything and everyone she loved.

She heard sobbing, and after a moment, realized it was her own.

“Do you understand now, Lady Tano?” Maul said, his voice low and quiet, like he was trying not to spook her. “Do you understand, at last, what lies in store for this galaxy if we do not act?” Looking up at him through her tears, Ahsoka said nothing, sobbing as it all crashed down upon her. _Everyone_ she knew and loved would die, Anakin would become the greatest monster to ever haunt the galaxy, the stars conquered by the Empire. She stood up on shaky feet, wiping away her tears, and with a growl-

“I do.”

-she knew what had to be done.

//

On Coruscant, the heart of the Republic, a battle was waging.

It was not the grand battle that had scoured the planet just days before, but a more personal - but no less important - one, in a grand office in an equally grand building. Here, the light and dark clashed, vying to control the fate of the galaxy. Inside the roomy, luxurious interior of the office, several bodies lay motionless on the floor. All of them were Jedi, two lying where they had been impaled and slashed, a third lying a few feet away from them, having been killed with just a bit more of a struggle, outside, an innocuous ship landed, a not-so innocuous figure dashing out, and-

“There, that platform!” Maul shouted. 

Lightsaber in hand as he paced by the doorway of the ship, Maul gestured at the space where Skywalker had landed and rushed inside. “Don’t bother landing, just drop us off!” He commanded. The pilot nodded once, and brought the ship to a rougher halt than expected, but Ahsoka couldn’t really be bothered to care as she grabbed her sabers and jumped out alongside the Zabrak. “Now, the moment of truth.” He said, as they ran through the halls and after Anakin. 

_Please, please don’t let us be too late._ Ahsoka prayed.

//

“He’s a traitor!”

 _“He_ is the traitor-” Mace Windu gasped, trying to hold back the barrage of lightning that slammed into his blade, courtesy of the man lying before him.

“Don’t let him kill me!” Palpatine groaned, an expression of helplessness on his face. Before the two of them, Anakin Skywalker stood, watching, undecided, as both the Champion of the Jedi Order and the Dark Lord of the Sith fought. Slowly, the lightning stopped, and Windu regained his composure, growling at Palpatine as the man began to plead for his life.

“I am going to end this, once and for all!” Mace shouted, grim determination in his eyes.

“You can’t. He must stand trial!” Anakin declared, turning back towards Palpatine. 

“Please don’t-” The frail old man gasped, as Mace made to swing his blade-

“No!” Anakin shouted, his own coming up to intercept-

-and then, with a burst of energy, both Anakin and Mace were thrown apart. Anakin sailed into a wall, Mace tumbled over a couch. “Rearranging the galaxy without me, Lord Sidious?” Tutted Maul, as he strode into the room, saber ignited, crimson blades aglow. “How inconsiderate of you.”

In an instant, the frail old man was no more, and Darth Sidious rose from his place. “I see my mercy was lost on you, _apprentice.”_ Hissed the Sith Lord, uncaring as Anakin and Mace rose from where they had been thrown. “So be it.”

And with that, a crimson blade tore out of his sleeve and he attacked.

Staggering to his feet, Anakin fumbled for his blade. He had to stop Maul from killing Sidious, it was the only way-

“Hey, hey!” And then suddenly Ahsoka was in his way, the young togruta filling his vision as she grasped at him. “Anakin, Anakin listen to me-” She gasped, panting as the sound of sabers clashing filled the air, Mace joining the fight once more, aiding his _very_ unlikely ally. “-don’t listen to him, _don’t.”_

“I have to!” Anakin gasped, trying to push past Ahsoka, who held him at bay with all her might. “He knows how to save Padmé, I can’t-”

“Anakin, when has the Dark Side ever _saved_ something?” She asked, looking at him with pleading eyes. “When has siding with the Sith been good for anyone? If you do this, you’ll regret it, and you know this.”

“...I don’t have a choice.” Anakin said weakly.

 _“Everyone_ has a choice.” Ahsoka said.

//

With all his might, Sidious fought.

He swung and parried and blocked and danced, swinging between Windu and Maul with barely any hassle. Maul was formidable, but he had not been fully trained before his untimely “demise” on Naboo, and Mace was powerful, but exhausted. The odds were even, but Sidious had no intention of losing. 

Somewhere behind his opponents, he saw Vader, his _apprentice-to-be,_ struggling against that pathetic togruta pet of his. Sidious drew upon the Dark Side and pushed in his wayward enforcer’s direction, hoping that Vader would get the hint, would impale Tano upon his blade and join him in defeating these pests. But she said something that seemed to stun him, and-

-and Anakin relaxed, seemed at peace.

 _Oh, that was it._ With a burst of the Force, Sidious threw his opponents far from him. Maul slammed into the floor and rolled out the door, which Sidious telekinetically slammed shut to further delay him, and Mace sailed into a wall, fell, and did not move again. With an outstretched hand, Sidious seized Tano by the throat. She gasped and gagged, her sabers tumbling from her grasp as Anakin stared, horrified.

“Your interference has ended, _Ahsoka.”_ Growled Sidious, a burst of lighting spraying from his fingers. Ahsoka screamed a silent scream, and he hurled her out the shattered window-

-only for her to be caught.

“No one hurts my friends.” Growled Anakin Skywalker, as he gently set his lost apprentice on the floor, ignited his blade and charged. 

//

Maul cut his way into the room with a frantic energy he did not know he had.

He stumbled into a fight, blue and red sabers clashing with more speed, more power, more energy than had ever been seen before. Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, fought Darth Sidious, Avatar of the Darkness, in a duel so fierce that he instinctively knew he could not dare intervene. Instead, Maul chose to rush over to Ahsoka, to examine her limp, unmoving form for any signs of life.

“Tano, Tano, _Tano-”_ Maul gasped, as he knelt by her side, staring at her still form. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow, but Maul took comfort in knowing she was alive. He sighed, and gently moved her away from the window she had no doubt been meant to hurtle out of, just in time for the battle to move closer to him.

“I see it now, I should have killed you on Mandalore!” Sidious shouted at his once-apprentice, as he kicked Anakin back and turned his full attention to the Zabrak. “You have become more than a rival, you have become an _enemy.”_ He growled, and lunged, not for Maul, but for Ahsoka. The ex-Sith intervened instantly, igniting his blades and meeting Sidious’ power with his own, giving Skywalker the opening needed to rejoin the fray.

They fought viciously, dancing and swinging their blades time and again, but it was a stalemate. Sidious went in for a killing blow, only to be intercepted, and the converse happened time and again. Maul could see no way of winning this, of his blade or Skywalker’s finding their mark. And Sidious...his power was growing. Soon, he would triumph over even Skywalker, if something was not done.

And then, a realization hit Maul.

It was not about him, or Tano, or Windu, or any other Jedi. It was about Skywalker and Sidious, a prophecy destined to be fulfilled. For balance to be restored, a sacrifice would need to be made. A sacrifice that only _he_ could make.

_Father!_

In the seconds between seconds, Maul saw a world where Anakin fell, had become Vader, Sidious’ apprentice. He saw that in that world, a boy who was yet to be would plead with Vader to remember the light, to remember the good in him, and Anakin would return, would sacrifice himself to bring balance. He would die a hero’s death, bringing an end to the Sith, once and for all.

It did not need to be so here.

Knowing now what he had to do, Maul returned to the world, and as he came away from another of Sidious’ blows, he acted. He threw his saber to the side, dual crimson blades vanishing as the weapon scattered to a stop, and hurled himself at Sidious. The man whirled instinctively, and Maul felt pain, unbearable pain as he speared himself on his former master’s blade.

Sidious cackled as Maul drove himself further upon the blade. “Foolish, foolish apprentice.” He said, every word mocking. “How does it feel to die so pointlessly?” He said with a wicked smile.

“A...sacrifice...is hardly...pointless.” Maul declared, voice weak, yet clear and strong all the same.

And in an instant, a blue blade plunged through Sidious’ heart. The Sith Lord gasped and fell, the wound fatal. Maul felt himself collapse on the floor, no longer supported by his former master. Before him, he saw Anakin plunge his blade once more into Sidious, a mighty roar echoing around the room as he did so. He drove it in deep, until the hilt was practically immersed in the Sith Lord, and as he did, a trembling hand gripped his robotic wrist.

“I had such hope for you…” Darth Sidious murmured as he breathed his last.

//

As a sense of peace fell about him, Anakin panicked.

The paradoxical statement was of course, in relation to the fact that he had just brought balance to the Force, and the fact that his apprentice was on the floor, unmoving. He rushed over to Ahsoka’s still form and grabbed at his comm, activating the distress signal on it and moving to attend to the limp togruta.

“Ahsoka, Ahsoka! Come on Snips, wake up!” He begged, wishing above all else that she would be alright. “Please, I can’t lose you!” He murmured, cradling her as if she was his daughter. “Please Snips, don’t go…”

“...I...won’t.”

Opening her eyes weakly, Ahsoka gave Anakin a wan smile. “I won’t leave you.” She murmured between hasty breaths of air. “Not this time.”

“...good.”

Maul, the utterer of that word, had moved himself into a position away from Sidious, slumping against a wall, a hand against the wound that he had forced the man to inflict upon him. “No one should live life without...someone...who...cares…” He coughed as Ahsoka and Anakin rushed over to him. He waved away their concerned attempts to examine the wound, already knowing it was fatal. With the last of his strength, he lifted a hand, Ahsoka took it wordlessly as he looked into her eyes.

“...thank you for listening to me.” He said.

//

In the years to come, the galaxy was indeed remade, but for the better.

After slaying General Grievous on Utapau, Obi-Wan Kenobi returned to Coruscant to learn he was now an uncle. Anakin Skywalker had become a father to Luke and Leia Skywalker, his not-so-secret marriage to Padmé Amidala now put out in the open. Ahsoka Tano had been unable to witness the birth of the children, too busy recovering from her torment at the hands of Sidious, sharing a hospital suite with Mace Windu in the process, but Anakin had most assuredly brought them to see their aunt the moment she was able to accept visitors. Okay, and their Uncle Mace too, but that was a story best left for another time, because it was _awkward._

The Clone Wars ended in an armistice, the Separatists and Republic coming to an accord that the grievances of both sides would be heard. The truth of Order 66 was uncovered, and swiftly dealt with. The Clones would not become puppets to a greater evil, but rather, free men. The Jedi Order did not perish at the hands of those they called friends, though in the years to follow, they would reform, become something greater than what they had once been, with Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, and Jedi Master, leading the charge. In the years to come, the Skywalker clan would play a very, very important role in galactic affairs, guiding the Republic - and indeed, the galaxy - into a brighter, better future. 

And as for Maul? He would be remembered, not as a Sith apprentice, not as a tyrant, but as a hero. Across the galaxy, the story of Maul the Redeemed spread, and in time, his darker deeds were forgiven, his last act of sacrifice, to end the Clone Wars and help the Chosen One bring balance to the Force, was what he would be remembered and honored for. In choosing to stand against his master, he had not found revenge, but rather, something better.

Redemption.

//

“Well, this is awkward.”

Qui-Gon Jinn, resident of the Netherworld of the Force, as with so many others, found that he and the person now standing across from him had said that sentence at the same time. Maul, a most awkward expression on his face, shifted uneasily. “Sorry for impaling you.” He muttered, before hastily rushing away to go reunite with his brother, who was equally excited to see him once more.

“Awkward doesn’t begin to cover it.” Qui-Gon muttered to himself. 

//

**Author's Note:**

> Also happy fiftieth story to me...


End file.
